Group #7

Members: Campos, Gemar

Etorma, Maricris
Milo, Micah
Mundoc, Anne Vallerie
Selma, Rose Mae
Yu, Sophia Andrea
I. Forced Migration
Forced Migration is “a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and
internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts within their country of origin)
as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or
nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects.”

II. When did Forced Migration start?

It was in the nineteenth century that a recognisably modern form of mass migration
was made possible by new forms of transport, colonial settlement and the expansion
of the United States (US). Between 1846 and 1914, over 30 million migrants left
Europe for America

Why does Migration happen?

Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home countries in
order to look for economic opportunities in another country. Others migrate to be
with family members who have migrated or because of political conditions in their
countries.

III. Factors/Causes of Forced Migration

1. Conflict-Induced Displacement occurs when people are forced to flee their homes as
a result of armed conflict including civil war, generalized violence, and persecution on
the grounds of nationality, race, religion, political opinion or social group.
2. Development-Induced Displacement occurs when people are compelled to move as a
result of policies and projects implemented to advance ‘development’ efforts. Examples
of this include large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, roads, ports, airports;
urban clearance initiatives; mining and deforestation; and the introduction of
conservation parks/reserves and biosphere projects.
3. Disaster-Induced Displacement occurs when people are displaced as a result of
natural disasters (floods, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change
(deforestation, desertification, land degradation, global warming) and human-made
disasters (industrial accidents, radioactivity).

IV. Impacts/Effects of Forced Migration

Positive Impact:
 Unemployment is reduced and people get better job opportunities.
 Migration helps in improving the quality of life of people.
 It helps to improve social life of people as they learn about new culture, customs, and
languages which helps to improve brotherhood among people.
 Migration of skilled workers leads to a greater economic growth of the region.
 Children get better opportunities for higher education.
 The population density is reduced and the birth rate decreases.
Negative Impact
 The loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and development of
rural areas.
 The influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses, school
facilities etc.
 Having large population puts too much pressure on natural resources, amenities
and services.
 It is difficult for a villager to survive in urban areas because in urban areas there is
no natural environment and pure air. They have to pay for each and everything.
 Migration changes the population of a place; therefore, the distribution of the population is
uneven.
 Many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated; therefore, they are not only unfit
for most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills.
 Poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy life.
 Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper nutrition, education or health.
 Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as
unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution etc.
 Sometimes migrants are exploited.
 Migration is one of the main causes of increasing nuclear family where children grow up
without a wider family circle.

V. Forced Migrant Terms

1. Refugees - The legal definition of a refugee, which is enshrined in the 1951 United
Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, defines a refugee as a
person residing outside his or her country of nationality, who is unable or unwilling
to return because of a ‘well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a political social group, or political opinion’. Those
recognized as refugees have a clear international legal status and are afforded the
protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
2. Asylum seekers - Asylum seekers are people who have moved across international
borders in search of protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention, but whose
claim for refugee status has not yet been determined.
3. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) – The United Nations report, Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement uses the definition: ‘internally displaced persons
are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave
their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to
avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of
human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an
internationally recognized State border.
4. Development-induced displaced - This category includes people who are
compelled to move as a result of policies and projects implemented to ‘enhance’
development. People displaced in this way are sometimes also referred to as
‘oustees’, ‘involuntarily displaced’ or ‘involuntarily resettled’.
5. Environmental and disaster-induced displaced - Sometimes referred to
‘environmental refugees’ or ‘disaster refugees’, most of those displaced by
environmental factors or disasters do not leave the borders of their homeland. This
category includes people displaced as a result of natural disasters (floods,
volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change (deforestation,
desertification, land degradation, global warming) and human-made disasters
(industrial accidents, radioactivity).
6. Smuggled people - Smuggled migrants are moved illegally for profit. Smuggled
migrants may include those who have been forcibly displaced as well as those who
have left their homeland in search of better economic and social opportunities.
7. Trafficked people - Trafficked people are those who are moved by deception or
coercion for the purposes of exploitation. The profit in trafficking people comes not
from their movement, but from the sale of their sexual services or labor in the
country of destination.